The first sign of the Dominion's commitment was not fire.
It was weight.
Across the planetary command lattice, sensors began reporting anomalies that did not align with any known attack pattern. Gravity fluctuations appeared in narrow bands along Earth's orbital envelope. Not violent enough to tear structures apart. Not subtle enough to ignore.
The planet was being measured.
Within the planetary command core, the Protector isolated the source almost instantly. A massive object had crossed into the system on a trajectory that avoided conventional interception lanes. Its mass was extreme. Its internal stability suggested a structure designed to endure sustained punishment.
This was not a fleet element.
It was an instrument.
Execution authority confirmed.
The designation carried meaning beyond combat. This was what the Dominion deployed when a world resisted longer than expected. When armies failed to collapse a planet. When time itself became the weapon.
Across Earth, Legion command posture shifted without spoken order. Orbital defense platforms rotated into new alignments. Atmospheric denial fields intensified. Subsurface stabilization systems activated beneath tectonic stress zones.
The planet braced.
On the surface, humanity felt the change before it understood it.
Coastal waters receded by small but measurable margins. Not like a tsunami. More like hesitation. Skies grew heavier. Air pressure shifted unevenly across continents, creating slow moving fronts that carried no weather.
Animals reacted first.
Then machines.
Navigation systems drifted. Time synchronization across remaining satellites slipped by microseconds. Power networks strained as load predictions failed to match reality.
Earth was under stress.
In the Varkhul command nexus, Rakh observed the unfolding data with calm certainty.
"Execution authority acknowledged," he said.
The invasion commander inclined its head. "Asset deployment within acceptable tolerances."
Rakh's gaze remained fixed on the planetary projection. Earth's defense grid pulsed red and black beneath the surface, adjusting in response to forces never meant to be confronted openly.
"This world adapts," Rakh said. "But adaptation does not prevent judgment."
The execution asset adjusted its orientation, aligning with Earth's rotational axis rather than any city or military formation. Energy fields unfolded around it, interacting with the planet's mass in precise and controlled patterns.
Within the command core, projections sharpened.
This asset was not designed for immediate destruction.
It was designed for destabilization.
Gravitational harmonics rippled outward, interacting with Earth's internal systems. Tectonic stress increased along fault lines previously considered stable. Atmospheric circulation compressed and shifted, creating pressure zones that circled the globe.
Cities did not fall.
But the strain was undeniable.
Within Legion networks, integrity metrics climbed steadily. Infrastructure held. Shields remained stable. Casualties remained limited.
Margins narrowed.
The Legion could fight armies.
This was something else.
The Protector processed the data without hesitation.
Direct orbital engagement would be inefficient. The execution asset was built to absorb sustained fire. Personal deployment would change nothing at this scale.
This required leverage.
The Protector issued a planetary directive.
Legion units transitioned into planetary integrity defense posture. Subsurface stabilization arrays increased output. Atmospheric counterfields synchronized across hemispheres. Civilian relocation directives escalated to maximum survivability thresholds.
Earth responded as a single organism.
Deep beneath oceans and mountains, ancient systems adjusted their output. Energy flowed through pathways carved long before humanity existed. The planet's crust stabilized under rising stress.
Humanity felt it as a deep vibration beneath their feet.
Not fear.
Pressure.
In a Legion secured shelter, a man placed his palm against the floor.
"It feels like the world is holding itself together," he said.
A Legion officer nearby nodded once. "It is."
Above Earth, the execution asset entered its next phase.
Harmonic interference intensified. Planetary rotation experienced fractional resistance. Oceans shifted against coastlines with unnatural restraint. Atmospheric layers compressed unevenly, creating towering pressure fronts.
Within the command core, damage projections climbed toward critical thresholds.
Time became the deciding variable.
If the execution cycle completed, Earth would not shatter. It would weaken. Defense coordination would fracture. Legion effectiveness would degrade into isolated pockets.
The Dominion did not need to win outright.
It needed Earth to fail slowly.
The Protector isolated a narrow solution space.
Legion action alone would not stop the asset.
Personal intervention would change nothing.
The answer was not force.
It was denial.
The Protector authorized targeted disruption operations.
Legion deep space units advanced along calculated vectors, striking Dominion support structures feeding the execution asset. Relay craft were destroyed. Synchronization nodes were disrupted. Stabilization anchors failed in controlled sequence.
The attacks were precise.
Measured.
Effective.
Above Earth, the execution asset's harmonics wavered. Its cycle slowed. Not enough to halt. Enough to delay.
Rakh noticed immediately.
"He is buying time," Rakh said.
"Yes," the invasion commander replied. "But the asset remains operational."
"That is acceptable," Rakh answered. "Time favors us."
He turned from the projection.
"Prepare secondary execution parameters," Rakh ordered. "Layer pressure. Force the guardian to escalate."
The command node hesitated. "That will expose Dominion assets beyond standard risk tolerance."
Rakh's eyes burned with certainty. "Then let them be exposed."
On Earth, the Protector detected the shift as new vectors populated his awareness. The Dominion was preparing to compound destabilization. Civilian zones. Orbital stress points. Atmospheric shear regions.
Layered catastrophe.
The Protector recalculated.
Earth could endure longer than the Dominion expected.
But not indefinitely.
This was the scenario the Kharans had feared.
The moment when preparation alone was no longer sufficient.
The Protector accessed restricted analytical layers.
Dormant Forge status queried.
Access denied.
Authorization threshold not met.
He did not push further.
Not yet.
Instead, he adjusted Earth's posture again.
Legion counteroffensive actions intensified against Dominion logistics. Orbital denial grids synchronized at higher precision. Planetary stabilization systems rebalanced output to delay internal fatigue.
Earth endured.
Rakh observed the resistance with restrained satisfaction.
"He holds," Rakh said. "But holding is not victory."
He transmitted a secure signal deeper into Dominion space.
The content was brief.
The implication was not.
Earth had forced execution authority.
The next escalation would not be incremental.
Within the planetary command core, the Protector stood in silence as systems flowed around him.
He did not feel urgency.
He felt clarity.
The enemy had committed its final tools.
Earth had not.
The balance had shifted.
The margin was narrowing.
And when the next threshold was crossed, the war would move beyond fleets and formations.
It would move into the heart of the planet itself.